Exercise: Fish on a plate

I have been looking forward to undertaking the project - never having tackled a fish before. Deciding to use my sketch book to help me feel that it was 'less important' to get it right I approached this exercise using pencil and ink tense pencils - thinking the latter would introduce some fluidity to the form.

I tried a different technique of 'smudging' the pencil with my finger to develop a 'smooth' impression of the fish and was surprisingly pleased with the result. The detail within the fish and the markings were utterly absorbing and I simply kept going for hours - using different marks to convey the skin of the fish as best I could. The inktense pencils worked reasonably well yet I think on reflection were a little over powering and the colour detracted from the potential of the different mark making.

I so enjoyed undertaking this exercise I have decided to abandon my original plans for my final piece for submission as my assignment and use the fish again!